Lighting a running subject

[Deepfocus]

Hi there, I'm relatively new to this forum so I really need everyone's patience and some help here . I've recently bought my DVX camera (DVX102AEN) and was wondering how am I to go about shooting scenes involving my talent to run through and along several dark alleys. The shoot will be done at night. There are street lamps (flourescent white) along the side walks that dimly lit up the pathways, allowing people to see their way while they are walking. As such, there are portions of area along the pathway that is nearly almost pitch black.

However, when it comes to filmming my subject (which I require him to be running), I realised I need to light him up more in order to bring out his character - dun wish to give him a sneaky look by putting him within the shadows. Having tested out both DVX and Sony's PD150, the latter seemed to work better under low light conditions - subject's face could still be seen more clearly as compared to DVX. I found out that it requires a lot more lighting when shooting at night (esp. when using progresssive scanning cine-mode). I do not wish to use GAIN as it will affect the quality of the picture.

Having said all that, I need you guys' advice on how to go about lighting my subject in low light conditions (almost fully dark) as of what I had mentioned. At the same time, I do not want my subject to look like there's a blast of light coming straight right onto his face (eg. if I place a camera-mount light - normally used for news broadcastings) which would make the lighting look flat.

Basically (pardon my lengthy elaboration), my main question is to know how am I to light my subject's face, when he is moving forward (and the fact that my camera is tracking backwards and shooting him from his front)?

Point Questions:

1) How do I go about lighting my subject at night (when subject is moving)?

2) What is the minimum amount of light needed to light my subject's face, giving details and without flattening out with huge blast of lights (i.e using Sun-gun)? What kind of lighting kit would be good to use in such instances?

3) If the location has flourescent lights, (knowing it would mean there would be a mixed lighting when using tungsten lamps in the location) how can I control the lighting condition then? If I were to use a 100W Lowel iLight, would that flatten out my subject's face as well? Are there any more controlled lighting kit to use for situations like I've mentioned?

I am an enthuasiastic DVX user and wish to bring out the best from the camera. Therefore I hope anyone out there with the right knowledge about lighting when using DVX could help me with this tricky issue

Thank you for your time. Please help.

Deepfocus
;D

 

[j]

Re: Lighting a running subject

1) How do I go about lighting my subject at night (when subject is moving)?

Have a grip walk backward hand holding the light ("hollywooding" it) as the subject moves back. Use a large source (fluo or diffusion/softbox) so the shadow movements are minimalized. Make sure the light levels are just bright enough to illuminate the face, but not bright enough to be noticed.

Or get a 4k hmi and spot it in from about 300 yards back.

2) What is the minimum amount of light needed to light my subject's face, giving details and without flattening out with huge blast of lights (i.e using Sun-gun)? What kind of lighting kit would be good to use in such instances?

Um, enough to see? Test test test. then let us know.

3) If the location has flourescent lights, (knowing it would mean there would be a mixed lighting when using tungsten lamps in the location) how can I control the lighting condition then? If I were to use a 100W Lowel iLight, would that flatten out my subject's face as well? Are there any more controlled lighting kit to use for situations like I've mentioned?

There are a million ways to control the lights on location. Turn them off, gell them, introduce your own practical lights...

Yes, the lowell ilight would flatten out the subjects face. If you want the "this is being shot for tonights news" look, then yes go ahead. At least put a lot of diffusion over it.

I would not rely on the on camera light. A very basic rule of thumb is: Any time you can move the light from behind the camera to behind the subject, it will look better. move it to the side, move it above, move it behind the subject (most extreme example is X-files). test test test. or get a gaffer.

 

[xort]

Re: Lighting a running subject

actually, an on camera light can work well in certain situations. if you maintain a constant distance from camera to subject then the light intensity will not change. second, you need to be able to control the intensity with diffusion or screens so you don't overlight with the oncamera light. Hollywood has used these for years and call them obie lights. just don't overpower the subject, let the streetlights be the dominant source and use the obie as a subtle fill for when in shadows. again, the trick is subtleness and consistancy. the nice thing about the placement of an obie light is the almost non existant shadow. multiple shadows are a real givaway that the scene is lit.
there are mini softboxes made for the lowel pro that would help.
also, eye glasses can be a killer

 

[readw]

above and forward oRe: Lighting a running subject

above and forward oRe: Lighting a running subject

I am going to be doing something similiar shortly. My plan is to use a chinese lanten on a pole above and forward of the actor with a runner (poor guy). The lantern will be geled to the same colour as the street lights. I want to get the effect of the street lights coming and going as he runs down the lane. I also plan to have an HMI light mounted to give some moon light effect. Thats the plan anyway. If that doesn't work then we may have a number of lanterns placed near the street lights to get the right effect. In a couple of weeks time we will be running some tests to see how comes out.

Warren

 

[xort]

Re: Lighting a running subject

big potential problem with the lantern on a fishpole is the shadows the lantern casts from the street lights as you move down the street. the obie light on camera is lower and so it has less chance of casting a shadow. if the camera will change distances from the subject then the obie won't work. you will probably need to get the light lower. that should not be an issue as it needs to be shadowless to be 'invisable'.
Again, the only possible problem would be eye glass reflections.
As for the moon light effect, the hmi will need to be bluer than the street lights. if the street lights are mercury vapor, you may need extra blue gel on the hmi to create a difference. for the fill light, consider the blue coated photofloods if you need daylight balance